


City Lights on the Water

by silenceisscreaming



Category: Life with Derek
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 17:35:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5937016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silenceisscreaming/pseuds/silenceisscreaming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Casey and Derek. What could go wrong?</p>
            </blockquote>





	City Lights on the Water

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Not at all mine.

Casey stormed out the door, tears streaming down her face. She made it to the end of the sidewalk before Derek came running after her. The streetlights lit up their faces as he grabbed her arm and turned her around. It was late. Almost 3 AM now. They’d been arguing for hours.

“Casey, can we just talk about this?” Derek asked desperately. “What are you so afraid of?”

Casey shook her head trying to break free from his grasp. “Why are we even trying to make this work, Derek? It may not be today, or tomorrow, but it’s going to blow up in our faces. Love never lasts. Look at my parents, look at yours. It’s all a fairytale. Look at us. We’re always fighting. And we have no idea what we’re doing! We moved into a condo we can’t afford. We have student loans to pay off. We’re far away from our family. We need a new car that we don’t have money for. Everything is going wrong, Derek. There’s no way we’re going to survive this. We’re going to end up resenting each other and we’ll drive each other away. We may as well break up now!” 

She didn’t believe a word of what she was saying but she knew that one day Derek would leave her. They had had this discussion so many times but her fears had never gone away. Derek had never been one for serious relationships and this one had lasted the longest by far. She was living on borrowed time as it was. And whom was she kidding? Why was Derek with her to begin with? Hadn’t he once hated her? Why would he fall for a psychotic keener? It didn’t make any sense. And now he was going to leave her. She was sure of it.

“You want to break up?” Derek said angrily. “You want to just throw away everything we’ve been building, everything we’ve worked for?”

Casey drew in a breath and braced herself. This was it.

“Well, too bad. Casey, I love you,” he continued. “I’ve said it before; we are not our parents. I understand you’re scared that we’re going to end up like them but come on, Princess, this is us. We fight like crazy but at the end of the day, it’s us against the world. And I don’t know about you but I want to fight for what we have. I’m not going anywhere. I’m never going to let you be alone. I’m never going to hurt you.”

Casey was outright sobbing by this point. What had she ever done to deserve a guy who loved her this much? She covered her face in her hands and Derek took the few steps toward her and wrapped her in his arms. 

“Do you remember when we had that picnic by the river?” Derek asked. Casey sniffed but couldn’t help the small smile that crept across her face.

“You mean our first actual date when it rained and we ended up soaking wet and freezing?”

“Yeah. We were cold, and freezing, and you just started laughing. I thought you had finally gone off the deep end but your laugh was contagious and we just kept laughing for ages. That was the day I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Every day I wake up and am amazed to see you on the other side of the bed. I never want to wake up without you,” Derek said softly. Casey pulled back and looked up at him.

“Do you promise we’ll never end up like our parents?” 

“I promise,” Derek said placing a kiss on her forehead. “Your parents loved each other once. Life happened and they fell apart. Your father didn’t appreciate what he had. He didn’t put the effort in to make it work. He was hardly ever home, always putting work before his family. And he’s still doing it. Just last week he cancelled on you again. But I honestly think that if your parents had tried hard enough, they could have made it work. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that George and Nora are together but if they had only tried harder, who knows. I am always going to keep trying. You’re the most important thing in the world to me. And I’m thankful to your father for being so careless because if he wasn’t, I never would have met you. I never would have had the privilege of sharing my life with you. I love you so much, Casey.”

“I love you, too. And I’m so glad you’re mine,” Casey replied shakily before she let Derek kiss her.

Shortly after Derek had calmed her down and taken them to bed, Casey was lying on her side staring at the wall. She was too strung out from the fight to sleep and she kept thinking about what Derek had said. He had so much faith in them and Casey couldn’t help but smile as she thought of the journey it had been to get here.

**4 years ago:**

Casey stepped through the door of the little, out of the way restaurant and sat herself at a table in the corner by the window. She had never been here before, hadn’t even known it existed until Nathan had suggested they go there for dinner. She was early, but only just. She pulled out her phone while she waited and was just about to check her email when a familiar voice made her look up.

“Hi there, I’m Derek and I’ll be your waiter. Can I get you anything to drink?” Derek said to the women at the table next to her. She waited until he had taken their drink orders before calling to him.

“Derek!” He turned around and his eyes widened in surprise. They hadn’t seen each other since coming to Queens. School had made them too busy to visit their family. They were due to go home for Thanksgiving the following week and Derek hadn’t been expecting to see her until then. He was majoring in film studies, she in political law. Their paths never really crossed. Until now.

“Hey,” he responded cordially. “What are you doing here?”

She smiled. “I’ve got a date. I didn’t know you worked here.”

“Yeah, gotta pay for all my dates somehow, right?” he replied with a smirk.

She gasped sarcastically. “I had no idea you were such a gentleman.”

He laughed. “Yeah yeah, mock me all you want but the ladies appreciate it. Do you want something to drink? Tea?”

“Sure, thanks, D,” she replied sweetly. He nodded and left to put in the order. She turned back to her phone, acknowledging the time and that her date was now late. She tried not to worry about it too much, something surely had happened to delay him. Derek checked in now and then, seeming to grow more concerned the longer she sat alone. 

About an hour after she had sat down a plate of chicken penne was set down in front of her. An identical plate was placed across from her and Derek sat down. Casey frowned.

“Derek, what are you doing? I didn’t order this.”

“I know but since your date is obviously not showing up, I figured you should still get to eat. Don’t worry; it’s on the house. And my shift is over so you get to enjoy my company,” he explained as he tucked into his meal. Casey slowly picked up her fork and took a bite of her pasta. 

“I don’t get it,” she said a few minutes later. “What did I do wrong? Why wouldn’t he show up?”

Derek looked up at her. “I doubt it was anything you did, Case. Guy’s just an idiot. Don’t worry about it.”

“But there has to be an explanation. Maybe he got a flat tire or something and his phone was dead,” she reasoned.

“Casey,” he said softly, “if he wanted to be here, he would’ve been. Regardless of what happened he would have found a way to be here. He doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

This made Casey smile. “Oh yeah? And what exactly is he missing?”

“This awesome pasta,” Derek replied taking an overly large bite. Casey rolled her eyes and continued eating.

“So how have you been?” Derek asked. She was surprised he had bothered to ask. He had never cared about her life before. Okay, so that wasn’t necessarily true. He kept tabs on what she was doing. But mostly because they lived in the same house and it was hard not to know. 

“Busy. I just finished writing my last midterm this morning. I’ve been so stressed out and I’m starting to think political law may not have been the best choice for me. And since I’ve been so busy with school, I haven’t made any friends except my roommate but she’s hardly ever there so I’m alone most of the time.” 

She was rambling by this point but she couldn’t seem to stop. “And I miss home and our family and I finally met someone really nice and sweet and he doesn’t even show up to our first date. Why do I even bother? Maybe I should just give up on dating. No one will ever love me enough to stay and put up with my craziness. Sam, Max, and Truman certainly couldn’t.”

“Hmm, maybe you just haven’t met anyone who could handle you,” Derek said watching her closely, “and as for school, switch your major. Political law is boring anyway. I always thought you’d do something artsy. Why don’t you be a writer?”

“I don’t think I’m good enough. I mean, I’m a good writer but just not a great storyteller, you know?” she answered with a frown.

Derek thought for a moment. “Okay, what about journalism? The story is already there, you just have to give it words.”

Casey blinked. “That – that is actually a good idea.”

“I have one of those once in a while,” he said with a smirk. She rolled her eyes but didn’t contradict him.

“So what about you? How have you been?”

“Well, most of my classes are more project based than exams so I spend a lot of time filming and editing. When I’m not playing hockey, of course. And I’m working as much as I can so I’ve been pretty busy. I’m enjoying it though. Who knew school could be interesting?” he said while spearing some pasta on his fork.

“It does help when you care about what you’re learning,” Casey responded. 

“You must care about a lot of things then, Keener,” he joked. Casey laughed.

“I suppose I must. Although law isn’t really doing it for me anymore. I think I’ll go talk to my advisor tomorrow and see what would be involved with switching majors.”

“Good idea. You may as well enjoy what you’ll be doing for the rest of your life,” Derek said. She agreed.

A few minutes later Casey blurted out, “Do you ever miss home?”

Derek looked up at her and frowned, thinking. “Sometimes I guess. But it was time to leave and it’s not like I’ll never see my family again. I’ve mostly gotten used to being on my own. It’s nice. And the people here are so different from the ones in London. They seem more real somehow, less superficial. I can’t imagine someone like Emily going to school here. You know?”

Casey nodded. “Yeah, you’re right about the people but I can’t help but want to go home sometimes. That’s probably just because I hate my major and have no friends. Maybe I just want to go somewhere. Not necessarily home. Just, go.”

Derek didn’t reply, just looked at her curiously. Casey blushed and turned back to her meal. 

When they had finished, Derek walked her to the car her father had bought for her as a graduation gift. It wasn’t anything fancy but it was certainly nicer than the Prince. He opened her door and she climbed in. Before he got a chance to shut it however, she spoke.

“Hey D? Thanks.” He nodded and closed her door. In her rear-view mirror she could see him standing there watching her drive away. She smiled to herself and turned on the radio, not particularly paying attention to the upbeat song playing.

\-----

After that night, Derek took to texting her on a daily basis. Nothing in particular, usually just jokes or amusing things his profs had done or said. It wasn’t much but it made her smile. The trip home for Thanksgiving was surprisingly fun. Derek had made a CD with a mix of music he knew they both liked and they sang along obnoxiously the majority of the way home. 

When they got to London and pulled up in front of their house, the front door opened and their entire family poured through. Marti got there first, pulling Derek’s door open and falling into his lap.

“I missed you so much, Smerek,” she said, almost in tears. Derek gripped her tightly.

“I missed you too, Smarti.” Casey smiled and opened her door to greet the rest of their family. She hugged Lizzie tightly before turning to her mom who she hugged carefully as Nora was still heavily pregnant. The baby was due around Christmas but Nora looked ready to pop already.

“Oh, I missed you,” Nora cried as she held her daughter. Derek was saying hello to the rest of his family, grabbing Edwin in a headlock. There was a lot of laughter and some tears from Nora before everyone finally made it inside the house.

Later, after the house had been cleaned and Thanksgiving dinner prepped for the following day, Casey collapsed onto the couch. Derek was in his recliner watching a hockey game. He looked over at her exhausted expression.

“Fun day?” he asked. She turned her head to look at him and couldn’t help but smile. He had changed into pyjamas and had some bits of popcorn on his t-shirt. 

“Yes actually, it was.” He snorted.

“Only you would find cleaning fun,” he said but not in his usual insulting tone.

“I was spending time with our family. What have you been doing all day?” she inquired. Unsurprisingly he had disappeared during the cleaning. 

“I was upstairs with Marti. We built a pillow fort in her room,” he answered. Casey’s heart melted. Only Marti could get Derek to do anything other than watch hockey or sleep. 

They were quiet for a while, just watching the game, before Casey spoke again.

“Can you believe we’re college students? Pretty soon we’ll be full adults,” she said. Derek glanced at her.

“Woah hey, I’m never going to be an adult. Nothing fun about adulthood,” he replied.

“Aren’t you at least a little excited to graduate, get a job, find a wife, have kids? Anything?” she asked.

“Well, sure, but that doesn’t mean I have to act like an adult. Getting older is mandatory; growing up is optional. You could stand to have some immaturity, you know.” Again, his tone wasn’t meant to be insulting. She wondered at that. Normally he would go all out with the insults.

“I’m plenty immature,” she said with a pout. He turned to her and upon seeing her face burst into laughter.

“You’re kidding right? You don’t have a childish bone in your body,” he retorted.

“I do so,” she argued. Her eyes grew wide as Derek stood up and loomed over her menacingly. 

“Oh yeah? I guess I’ll have to check for myself,” he said darkly before pouncing on her. Casey squealed as he tickled her sides. She tried to squirm away from him but he had her trapped. Her involuntary laughter was leaving her breathless and she was trying her hardest to hold back his hands. 

Eventually he let her go, falling to her side and sinking into the couch. She pulled some stray strands of hair out of her face as she caught her breath, still trying to recover.

“You know what I can’t believe?” Derek asked.

“Hmm?”

“I can’t believe that we’ve gone all day without fighting once.” Casey looked at him disbelievingly. 

“Were you not witness to the last five minutes?” she asked incredulously.

“That wasn’t fighting. That was playing. You should really learn the difference,” he said sounding like the ultimate authority on all things fun. And in that moment, Casey thought that she learned the difference. 

She went off to bed shortly after that, saying a soft goodnight to Derek who responded in kind. It took her a long time to fall asleep, her mind too full of Derek to let her rest.

\-----

After Thanksgiving, they fell back into their lives at Queens. However, they now made it a point to spend time together, with plenty of exaggerated bemoaning on both sides. Once a week they would go for dinner but most nights that Derek wasn’t working, they would spend in Casey’s dorm room. It was bigger than Derek’s though not by much. They would watch movies or play Babe Raider. Casey would cook in the common room and Derek would watch and keep her company. Casey would study and Derek would edit his videos. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they didn’t. It was a crisp afternoon when Casey looked up from her textbook suddenly and turned her desk chair to Derek who was spread out on her bed.

“You’re my best friend.” 

Derek furrowed his brow in confusion. “Okay?”

Casey decided to elaborate for him. “It’s just, we spend so much time together and I really don’t have any other friends and you know more about me than probably anyone and vice versa and I’m strangely comforted by that.”

She said it all without taking a breath and Derek looked more scared than anything.

Casey’s whole body drew into itself as she became self-conscious. “Does that bother you?”

Derek slowly shook his head. “No, I just never thought about it but you’re mine too.”

Casey smiled.

\-----

A few weeks later, Derek showed up at Casey’s door. 

“Grab your coat. We’re going on an adventure,” he exclaimed enthusiastically as he stepped into her dorm room. 

“Uh, Derek, it’s late November. It’s cold out,” Casey argued. Derek stared at her.

“Case, it’s like 8 degrees out. There isn’t even any snow. You’ll be fine with a jacket.”

“Where are we going?” Casey asked suspiciously. 

“I told you, we’re going on an adventure. Now come on, let’s go before the sun sets.” Derek said pushing her coat into her arms and dragging her out the door. He let her go long enough to lock the door behind her before pulling her down the stairs and out of Leggett Hall. He took a left and slowed his pace to a walk, keeping hold of Casey’s hand. She allowed him to lead her but he didn’t go far. He simply walked to the end of the street and across the grass down to the riverbank. He let go of Casey’s hand and sat down on the grass, crossing his legs at the ankle and leaning back on his elbows. Casey stared down at him. 

“You insisted upon dragging me on an adventure to the river? Really imaginative, Derek, I’m impressed,” she said sarcastically. Derek glared up at her.

“Just sit down, Ms. No Fun Allowed,” Derek insisted. Casey did so and looked out across the St. Lawrence River. It was a calm day so the wind turbines weren’t turning. Neither said a word for several minutes, just watching the water rush past them. Birds were flying overhead and the rumble of cars echoed from the road behind them. 

“Hey Case?” Derek said quietly.

“Yeah?”

When Derek didn’t answered Casey looked over him. He had his thinking face on and seemed lost in thought.

“Derek?”

“Sorry,” he said breaking out of his trance and focusing on her. “Um, there was something I wanted to tell you.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“I – uh, I – I forget,” he stammered out. Casey gave him a curious look.

“Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything, right?” she said softly.

“Yeah, I know,” Derek replied with a small smile. Casey smiled back before turning back to the river. The wind began to pick up then and Casey involuntarily shivered. Her jacket was warm but not windproof and the wind off the water was chilly. She rubbed her hands over her arms quickly to create a bit of friction. 

“Here,” Derek said scooting closer to her. He reached out his arm and pulled her against his side, copying her rubbing movements with the hand wrapped around her. Casey curled gratefully into him, feeling warmer instantly. They sat like that for several moments before Derek spoke.

“Hey Case?” 

She lifted her head off his shoulder to look at him questioningly. Derek hesitated before leaning forward and meeting her lips with his own. Casey was startled and pulled back immediately. Derek looked terrified and Casey realized he had really put himself on the line. They were stepsiblings. They shared a family. They had a sibling on the way that would share both their blood. They had the world convinced that they hated each other. And here was Derek, turning his back on all of that, and being brave. The least Casey could do was return the favour. She leant back toward him and brushed her lips over his. Derek’s breath shuddered in relief before he cupped her face in his hand and angled her into a deeper kiss. 

\-----

In their third year at Queen’s, Derek moved into an apartment. He was sick of his tiny dorm room where he had nowhere to put his guitar or his hockey gear. An added bonus was that Casey saw it as a desirable study space. The kitchen was big and she had taken it upon herself to organize and stock it. She would most likely be using it more often than Derek so she wanted to know where everything was. 

The couple spent most of their evenings eating a home cooked meal and watching movies or studying. Casey insisted their schooling would not suffer just because Derek wanted to spend all their time making out on the couch. 

One evening they were curled up watching some chick flick Casey had pleaded for. She was wearing an old practice jersey of Derek’s and they had a blanket wrapped around them. 

“Hey Case?” Derek asked grazing his nose up and down her neck. She made a noise of acknowledgement and smiled as Derek’s ministrations lightly tickled her.

“You wanna spend the night tonight?” Derek continued softly. Casey turned to look at him, an expression of uncertainty colouring her face.

“Oh, um, I’d like to, D, but uh –,” she stammered out. Derek smiled, amused at her stuttering.

“Relax Case, I don’t mean I want to do anything. You’re not ready and that’s fine. I just want to fall asleep and wake up with you in my arms. That’s it.”

Casey thought quickly. “But I don’t have my toothbrush. I need my toothbrush. Another time okay?”

Derek sighed. “Alright. Another time.”

Casey snuggled back down into his arms to finish the movie and as soon as it was over she was out the door. Derek frowned as he watched her go. Two years into their relationship and she had never stayed the night. They hadn’t said they loved each other though Derek most certainly loved her. He wondered why it felt like Casey was scared of moving forward in their relationship. She hadn’t even wanted to celebrate their anniversary. 

A few weeks later, they were once again in Derek’s apartment. This time they were studying for their finals. Christmas was fast approaching and they would be headed home soon. Half of Derek was dreading going home. Simon was a constant reminder of all the reasons their relationship wasn’t normal. Their family knew that they were a couple and didn’t have a problem with it but their parents had asked if they could keep the PDA to a respectable level. Which basically meant no touching at all. Which is why Derek decided tonight was the night.

“Hey Case, you should spend the night. We can study longer since you wouldn’t need to take time to drive back to your dorm.”

Casey looked up from her cue cards and opened her mouth to speak but Derek cut her off.

“I have an extra toothbrush. Brand new, never been opened. Same brand you always buy.” He had planned for this.

“Oh, well – uh, I guess that would be okay,” Casey said softly. 

A few hours later, Casey finished brushing her teeth and hesitantly climbed into Derek’s bed. She was dressed in an old t-shirt and pyjama pants of Derek’s. The bed was pushed against the wall to allow for more floor room so she got as close to the wall as she could before settling down under the comforter. Derek came in then and shut off the light, letting the light from the street lamps outside the window light the way. He crawled under the covers and turned on his side facing Casey.

“I’m not going to bite, you know,” he joked trying to ease her. Casey didn’t say anything. Derek sighed.

“Casey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just tired,” was Casey’s reply. 

“Is it okay if I hold you?” Derek asked nervously. Casey turned slightly. She hesitated, biting her lip as she thought about it. Then she jerkily nodded her head. Derek opened his arms and Casey slid over, allowing Derek to wrap her up. She buried her face in the juncture between his neck and his collarbone.

Derek tightened his hold on her. “Casey, please tell me what’s wrong.”

“What do you mean?” came the muffled reply.

“You’re holding back and I don’t know why. We’ve been together two years and this is the first time you’ve stayed over. You only recently started letting me kiss you in public. I care about you a lot and sometimes it feels like you don’t feel the same,” Derek replied honestly. He’d wanted to have this conversation for a while but the timing had never seemed right.

Casey quickly raised her head. “Oh Derek, I’m sorry. I never wanted you to feel that way. I know I’ve been horrible, always telling you no and you’ve been so great waiting for me, never pressuring me. I care about you so so much and I don’t want you to ever think otherwise.”

“Okay, so what’s the problem then?” Derek asked feeling relieved now that he knew the problem wasn’t him.

“I’m – I guess I’m just scared,” Casey explained. “I’ve never been in a relationship this long and I’ve never done more than what we’ve done and part of me is scared that I’m not going to be any good at it and the bigger part of me is scared that I’m going to get in too deep and get my heart broken.”

“Oh Casey,” Derek said stroking his hand down her face gently. “Trust me, you could never be bad at it. Even if you were, I wouldn’t care because it’s you. And that’s what relationships are; learning how to do things together and making each other better. As for you getting your heart broken, that’s never going to happen. I’m yours, Case. I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me.”

Casey smiled. “My brain believes you but my heart is a bit more sceptical. My parents were together for years and they couldn’t make it work. They were so great together and they still ended up resenting each other. I don’t want that to happen to us.”

“Casey, I love you. I’ve loved you for a long long time. There is nothing you could ever do that would change that. We are not our parents. We’re going to be okay,” Derek said wanting so desperately to convince her.

Tears leaked out onto Casey’s cheeks and Derek brushed them away.

“I love you, too,” Casey said finally. Derek’s heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest from the overwhelming feeling he got at those words. He leaned forward and kissed her gently. 

Things were better after that night. The toothbrush Casey had used was sitting in the holder next to Derek’s. She had her own bottles of shampoo and soaps in the shower and Derek had cleared out a drawer in his dresser for her and it was to the point of over-flowing. Derek had never been so happy. He loved having her invade his space because it meant she felt comfortable there. She was spending more nights than not at his place, with the exception of nights before exams, which she claimed she couldn’t be distracted or the nights Derek was working late. And every day they told each other they loved each other.

\-----

Another year and a half later and Derek and Casey were finally finished moving into their new condo in Kingston. They had thought about Toronto but decided they liked it here. They had friends here and Derek had a job.

Derek collapsed down onto the couch, exhausted from all the heavy lifting. Casey wiped the sweat off her forehead as she sat down beside him. Her body was tense and Derek took it upon himself to pull her into his side.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Are you sure this was a good idea? I mean, we both have student loans and I haven’t even found a job yet. How are we going to pay the bills?” Casey worried.

“My job will be enough for now. We just have to take it easy on the spending for a while. No big deal, Case. We’ll be okay,” Derek reassured her. She let her head fall to his shoulder as she looked around their living room. Their living room. Theirs. She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. She remembered back to that first day by the river. The cold air, the rushing water, and Derek. If it wasn’t for that single moment of bravery, they wouldn’t be here.

Spontaneously she stood up and reached a hand down to Derek. He took it with a questioning look but allowed her to pull him up. 

“Let’s go to bed,” Casey said softly. Her tone indicated that she meant something other than sleeping. They had waited a long time for this. About four years. Derek has brought it up a few times but Casey had never been ready. Derek assumed she wanted to wait for marriage though she had never confirmed that. He was surprised when she had accepted her offer to move in with him. After all, it was very uncommon for live in couples to not be having sex. 

But here she was, suggesting what he had been waiting like a saint for. Derek’s face lit up and he practically dragged her up the stairs, determined to keep her in bed as long as possible.

\-----

**Present Day:**

Casey gave up on sleeping and sat up. She looked over at Derek who was fast asleep with his mouth open slightly and his arm outstretched toward her. She reached over a hand and brushed a few stray locks of hair out of his face. She couldn’t imagine being without this wonderful man. 

She thought back again to that conversation in the restaurant all those years ago. The day it all started. He had said she just hadn’t met anyone who could handle her. He had been wrong. Neither of them had realized it at the time though. Or maybe he had, she thought. Maybe he knew that they would be amazing together. He had always been quicker on the uptake than her. 

“Derek,” she said softly, running her fingers through his hair. He groaned but didn’t wake up.

“Derek,” she said again, louder this time. He opened his eyes with a large inhale through his nose. He looked up at her blearily.

“You okay?” he mumbled, still half asleep.

“Will you marry me?” she blurted out, no precursor. He blinked up at her.

“Right now?” Casey rolled her eyes.

“No, Moron. Not right now. But soon?”

Derek smiled. He reached out to take her hand in his and he brought it up to his lips.

“Yeah, Case,” he said as he kissed her palm. “I’ll marry you.”

**Author's Note:**

> AN: This started out as just a short scene but grew into this monster. Gold stars to anyone who can tell me what song I based this fic off of!
> 
> Also, there actually is a dorm at Queens called Leggett Hall. Very close to Leggat obviously. Hence why I had Casey live there and not at Victoria Hall. I had Derek living in that one though it wasn’t mentioned.


End file.
